July 21, 2014

Daniels plans condos near the waterfront

Photo by Jon Silver [enlarge]

Daniels Real Estate is back with a plan to develop the old Seattle Plumbing Supply building, which is next to CenturyLink Field and near the waterfront.

Kevin Daniels said his company will buy the building at 589 Occidental Ave. S., which is also known as the Johnson Building, from a group of investors led by Lakeside Capital Management.

The goal is to build 105 condos on top of the 1903 warehouse.

Daniels said he has tapped Hewitt Architects to make some tweaks to a plan Weinstein AU put together for Lakeside Capital in 2012. That plan was for seven stories of apartments.

There will be three spaces on the ground floor for either live-work units or restaurants.

Daniels said he wants to start construction as soon as he gets permits from the city. That could be early next year.

Dylan Simon and Dave Schumacher of Colliers International are marketing the building for Lakeside Capital.

Daniels said Pioneer Square needs more for-sale housing. He recently finished nearly 500 apartments at Stadium Place, just steps away from the condo project site. For a neighborhood to succeed, Daniels said, it needs a variety of options for people who want to buy and people who want to rent.

This is the second time Daniels has planned a project on the site.

Eight years ago, Nitze-Stagen & Co. and Historic Seattle proposed a 6-story project with a restaurant, three live/work lofts and two levels of parking in the existing structure, and 69 condos above. Nitze-Stagen brought in another development company, Barrientos, to work on the project, which was named Stadium Lofts.

When Daniels shifted his attention to Stadium Place, Maria Barrientos' company took over the project before the housing market collapsed. The DJC reported in 2011 that Barrientos paid King County $2.2 million for the building in 2008, and borrowed just over $5 million from Lakeside Capital Management.

Lakeside took the property back in 2011 through a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Daniels said the project was just a victim of the recession.

“(Barrientos) had a great project, but it was ready to go in late 2008,” Daniels said.